Crisis

Is Crisis Chat for You?

Anyone who is depressed, despairing, going through a hard time, or just needs to talk, including people who are thinking about suicide, can use Foundation 2 chat services. Any life issues may be discussed on the Chat program. The chat specialists are here to listen and support you through whatever difficult times you may be facing.

Foundation 2 Crisis Phone Counseling

Foundation 2 Crisis Center provides trained, compassionate telephone counselors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can reach a crisis counselor by calling (319) 362-2174 in the Cedar Rapids local calling area or 1-800-332-4224 anywhere else in Iowa. Our crisis center serves the state of Iowa.

The Foundation 2 Crisis Center is certified by the American Association of Suicidology. We are one of two programs in Iowa that has achieved this certification.

What to Expect

Calls to the Crisis Center are confidential. We know that reaching out isn’t always easy—it’s OK to feel nervous or even uncomfortable at first.

Our counselors answer each call with an open mind, and with respect to you and your situation. We’re here to listen, give you information, and explore safe options to help you in your time of crisis.

We give you control of the conversation, but we understand that sometimes it’s hard to put your feelings into words. If you’re unsure how to start the conversation, we can begin by asking you a few questions about your situation. If you don’t know what to say, that’s OK. There is no cost for calling our crisis line.

Foundation 2 Crisis Chat and Text

Foundation 2 added crisis chat to its array of services in January 2016. This online emotional support is another way we hope to connect with persons in crisis. When you log in you will be linked with a trained and compassionate crisis counselor.

In addition to Chat messaging services, you may use your phone to text us. Foundation 2 Crisis Text is available by texting to 800-332-4224 and following the prompts. Text is currently available Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM, with plans to eventually expand the hours we are able to respond to your text.

What to Expect

The goal of the Foundation 2 Crisis Chat service is to help you reduce stress and feel empowered to make healthy decisions. We will chat with you about your safety, emotions and thoughts surrounding the situation, feelings of depression, your current social and support situation, and if you have any thoughts of suicide. If a chat specialist feels you are in danger they will speak with you about how to make yourself safe, including accessing emergency services, and/or additional contact information to ensure your safety. The chat specialist will work with you to create a safety plan if necessary.

How to start a chat session with one of our trained crisis chat counselors:

We are currently available 9 AM to 3 PM, Monday-Friday.

Click on the Chat icon.

Fill out the Chat Registration page – you may use an anonymous log-in if you wish.

Read and accept the Terms and Conditions.

Type in the verification code.

Confidentiality

The confidentiality and security of chats is ensured through the chat software provider, which uses the same encryption and data protection standards required by major financial institutions to transact business with each other. All of your communications are securely encrypted from your computer to ours.

What if Foundation 2 Crisis Chat is not available?

You can try our 24/7 toll free number at 1-800-332-4224 or the Lifeline toll free number at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). If you prefer to use a Chat service, you can use the Lifeline Crisis Chat, available 24/7.

Mobile Crisis Outreach

MCO runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When a service provider, medical professional, employer, family member, friend or individual believes a situation would benefit from on-site crisis intervention, they can call 1-855-800-1239 to discuss Mobile Crisis Outreach with Foundation 2 staff.

Mobile Crisis Outreach team members are trained professionalsholding either a master’s level or bachelor’s level degree in the social services field. Team members undergo intensive training in counseling and crisis intervention skills and their application to a wide variety of situations.

The team will respond within one hour of receiving a request (adverse weather conditions may delay response time). Private environments, like a person’s home, require two team members; in public locations like schools, businesses or hospitals, either one or two team members will be sent. Upon arrival, team members will:

Assess the situation

Attempt to stabilize and diffuse the crisis

Provide counseling as needed

Provide referrals to other Foundation 2 or community resources

Within 24 hours a MCO team member will make a follow-up call with the client to check on the client’s well-being.

Mobile Crisis Outreach is currently offered to residents of the following counties: Linn, Johnson, Iowa, Jones, Buchanan, Delaware, Bremer and Benton

Yes, for the safety of team members and the public, we are unable to respond to situations in which the client requires medical rescue, or in situations involving firearms. Mobile Crisis Outreach is available to anyone within a 60 minute radius of Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Dubuque. The 24-hour Foundation 2 crisis hotline is available to anyone, in any situation. Call 1-855-800-1239 to learn more.

Our counselors will try to help you with your crisis by providing on-site counseling, referral services and general support (bringing out food, transportation to a hospital, contacting other family members, etc.).

J-FAST is a component of Mobile Crisis Outreach that works with Linn County families of youth (ages 5-17) at risk of hospitalization, committal, or residential placement. It is uniquely suited to help parents or schools in situations where youth are struggling with depression, violent behavior, substance abuse, self-harm and/or thoughts of suicide. J-FAST is a joint effort between Foundation 2, Horizons, ASAC, Abbe Center, Tanager Place and St. Luke’s Hospital and is funded with support from Linn County Decat.